Spring Break is in the air, Barolo, Ft Lauderdale

Cooked an interesting meal the other day. We started with a cheese course of some fascinating cheeses from around the world. I love to serve interesting cheeses when we have people over for dinner. It gives me a chance to try lots of cheeses at once. Robiola, a blend of sheep, goat and cow milk from Italy; Milton Creamery cheddar from the US are 2 favorites.An appetizer of baked clams and baked oysters with sauteed kale, onions and bacon.
The main course was onion puree with braised endive and roasted pork shoulder. Everything came together nicely on the plate. I found the recipe in Food and Wine Magazine  http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/roast-pork-with-buttermilk-onion-puree

 Dessert was a vanilla 4 layer cake filled with chocolate mousse and fresh strawberries and frosted with a dark chocolate frosting. Wines included several Bordeaux's and some sparkling wines.

2000 Château La Fleur de Boüard Lalande de Pomerol Red Bordeaux Blend  Rich tasting wine; not a big bouquet; great mouth feel and the wine had a purity; very good wine and we enjoyed with friends; drank with a pork roast; balanced with great flavor;

  2006 Château CantemerleHaut-Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend
3/1/2014 - I like this wine: 87 points
OK Bordeaux; smooth and balanced but nothing special compared to another Bordeaux we drank that night; drank with a pork roast;
 NV Cave de L'aurance Crémant de BourgogneChampagne Blend  
This is a sparkling wine from Lugny in Burgundy; it has beautiful rose color but the taste is dry with nicely balanced fruit and acid; drank with friends and everyone enjoyed; we had it with cheeses; Not sure of the grape used; Would definitely drink again if I find it.



Recent Wines

Had a great Barolo last night. It was a bottle I bought when I was in Italy 2 years ago. We went to the winery which was the winemakers home and tasted a number of wines. http://www.ruggericorsini.com/
The wine was a 2007 Podere Ruggeri Corsini Barolo Corsini. I paid about $30 for it. See my European trip Part 2 entry of 8/26/2011. This wine is what Barolo should taste like. I have not had that many Barolos but most taste thin and have lots of alcohol. While they have good subtle flavor, I usually make excuses for them as they are pretty expensive - $30 and up.
We had tasted this wine in Italy and were impressed but you never know how much the ambiance impacts your judgement when you drink wines on vacation. Drinking this Barolo last night was a revelation. Medium bodied, nice bouquet, and the mouth feel was great. It had texture but was not grainy. The flavor was immediately impressive and continued to develop. We had the wine with veal chops and pasta. The only problem with the wine is getting it. I have not been able to find it in the US. DiPalo wine in NYC carries wines from this winery but not this vintage. I need to check back with them as I only 1 other bottle of Podere Corsini Barolo 2007 but a different bottling.
Bottom line is that sometimes you must search long and hard to find the real stuff. Not all wines from a good wine area are good. Price many times is irrelevant although a certain minimum price helps. I would not buy a Barolo for under $20.
Found an interesting Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley in France.
2010 Cave de Saumur Saumur-Champigny Réserve des Vignerons Cabernet Franc 
Interesting wine. Lots of flavor; all cabernet franc; different but good different; fruity but with structure; 12.5% alcohol so it drinks easy; we had with pizza and salad; will definitely drink again; at $12 a very good value.


Ft Lauderdale
I had a chance to be in Ft Lauderdale recently. Found a restaurant call Coconuts/G&B Oyster Bar 
http://coconutsfortlauderdale.com/. Coconuts is the more formal restaurant and there was over an hour wait on a Wednesday night. The Oyster Bar has open seating. I had a snapper sandwich and salt baked shrimp. They had Anchor Steam beer on tap and a special rum cake for dessert. Everything was very good and reasonably priced.

Enjoy.